Tragedy: part 1
by Sebe
Summary: Taichi is seriously injured trying to protect Yamato. As he slowly dies in Matt's arms, Matt begins to think of how much he loves Tai and how he'd do anything for him.
1. Default Chapter Title

This is my first multi-part fic. Actually I wrote part of this a long time ago, like when digimon first came on and I just found it and felt like finishing it. I didn't rework it at all though, so I hope it's okay. 

Anyway, this isn't a Taito, YET. I'm not sure if it's going to be or not. So far it's just a best friend thing between Matt and Tai and I might keep it that way just for a change of pace. 

This is again set in 01. Still in the digiworld. I just kinda like that setting. Remember in your reviews that I am warning you now. I was much younger when I wrote this. (At least the first few parts) so I want no flames because of it's poor quality, kay?

Discalimer: (sighs) I don't own the show. Oh well. If I did, there would be a lot more drama and a lot more Taichi. I LOVE TAICHI!!!….read the fic.
    
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Tragedy

A figure walked through one of the many forests in the digiworld. The wind blew and the rain fell around him. Even though it was only late afternoon, the sky was pitch black. None of this seemed to phase the boy. He continued to walk as if nothing was happening; as if he was in a trance.

In a way, he was. Yamato Ishida's mind wasn't registering very much at the moment. All he could think about right then was getting back to the others. If he didn't find them soon, his best friend would die. Matt looked down at the person he held in his arms.

Blood covered most of his body. 'Blood he shed for me…' Matt thought. 'I'd be dead right now if it wasn't for him.' He glanced down once again and looked at his friend's face. Because of the rain, a few strands of his usually poofy brown hair were plastered up against his forehead and cheeks, covering some of his horribly pale skin.

'Tai…'

Matt bit his lip and winced at the smaller boy's appearance. His head was turned to the right, facing Matt. His chocolate-brown eyes were closed, but his mouth was open just a little bit. His breaths came suddenly in short and uneven intervals. Every time he inhaled, Matt could feel Tai's whole body shake as though just that simple action took more energy then he had. He had to do something or Tai wasn't going to last much longer.

If only they'd taken their digimon with them things might not have turned out this way, but they had left them with the others. Matt and Tai had both been concerned about their younger siblings without their big brothers around to look after them so they left Agumon and Gabumon there to protect TK and Kari as they went off to explore another path.

For once, it had not been Tai who wanted to do this; it was Matt. It seemed like a good idea at the time. Matt thought that maybe they would find some digimon who were hiding from Piedmon there. It was a pretty out of the way place so he figured some good digimon who were trying to escape could've gone there.

All the others had tried to convince him not to go, but he was very insistent. When he threatened to leave and explore the new path by himself, Tai spoke up and volunteered to go with him.

"Yeah, whatever…" 

Matt shuddered as he thought about what he said to Tai who was only leaving to make sure that he didn't get captured or hurt. He should've seen it sooner. Tai didn't want to go, he wanted to stay and protect his sister. Why had he been so stupid?

Matt sighed and looked down at Tai's limp body. 'This is my fault.' He thought. 'I should've listened to you and the others. You tried to tell me it was dangerous, but I wouldn't listen. I should have known better when even you didn't want to take the risk.'

"It should've been me who got hurt Tai, not you…I'm so sorry…" he spoke outloud although he knew the only person that heard him was himself and silent tears began to stream from his azure eyes, dripping down onto his friend's still form and mingling with the rain.

~~~~~~~~Flashback~~~~~~~~  
  
"You okay Matt?" Tai asked worriedly.

"Fine." Matt snapped.

"It's just, we've been walking for hours and you've hardly said a word and I…

"Look, I said I'm fine okay! So just back off and leave me alone!" Matt snarled. "Why do you always have to be in everyone's business, huh?! Because you're the leader! Well, I got news for you; you're a terrible leader Tai! You're such a jerk!" Matt turned his back to the brown-haired boy.

He expected Tai to yell at him or just plain attack him, but he didn't. When he turned back around and saw Tai's expression he immediately wished that he could take back everything that he just said.

Tai looked absolutely devastated. He turned his head towards the ground, refusing to look at Matt.

Matt was horrified. He didn't know why he said that to Tai, he had only been trying to help.

"Tai, I…"

Tai simply brushed by Matt and started walking again.

"We should keep going…" he said in a near whisper.

Matt ran to catch up with him and grabbed his arm.

"Tai I'm sorry." Matt said sincerely. "I didn't mean-"

"Yes you did. And you're right." Tai said in a sad and resigned tone. "I'm an awful leader. You guys don't deserve to be stuck with an idiot like me."

Matt turned Tai around so he could see his face. His dark-brown eyes looked so hurt…almost defeated.

"No, Tai you…I…I mean." Matt stuttered.

"It's okay. I know I'm no good at anything, especially saving the world." Tai told the blonde. "I'm sorry Matt…"

Before Matt could respond, he and Tai were both tackled to the ground, Hard.

Matt opened his eyes and saw his attackers. Two digimon. They were totally black and resembled monsters that you would see in horror movies. Their eyes were blood red and completely soul less. Matt remembered that Izzy had shown them to the group once on his digimon analyzer after he'd seen them in the woods, luckily he had hidden himself well and they didn't see him. Their name was Daromon.

"Tai!" Matt looked over to find his friend trying to fight off three of the creatures, but they were just as tall as Tai and ten times stronger. Six more were surrounding Matt.

"What do you want?!" Matt demanded of the invading monsters.

One with pure black eyes to match his body, obviously the leader, spoke.

"Your life!" he hissed.

Immediately, the other five Daromon jumped Matt. He tried to fend them off, but they were too strong. As blow after blow was landed, Matt's world began to turn black and it started to rain.

Just as Matt was about to lose consciousness, he heard a voice and the creatures stopped attacking him.

"Hey ugly! Leave him alone!"

Matt opened his eyes to see Tai standing in front of him protectively, fists clenched. Somehow, Tai had managed to break away from the other Daromon to help Matt, though he did not escape unscathed.

Matt saw blood trickling down Tai's leg and followed the path that it traced. He looked up and saw that Tai's entire right side was covered in the dark red liquid. He was hurt. And from the looks of it, hurt badly, yet he was still defending Matt.

"Tai, no!" Matt called, slowly trying to stand.

"Stay down Matt. I'll take care of these jerks." Matt could hear the pain showing through in Tai's voice.

Matt looked at the Daromon leader just in time to see him give a silent signal with his hand and point at Tai.

All of the Daromon pounced on Tai, totally ignoring Matt.

"NO!!" Matt cried. He tried to jump in and help Tai, but he was pushed back against a tree by one of the Daromon.

"Ugh!" Matt groaned as he hit the tree. He stood slowly and saw Tai. He was trying to fight the creatures as best as he could, but he was already badly injured and more fresh cuts were now apparent on his body.

Matt saw Taichi look over at him. Blood was running down his bruised face from a deep gash in his forehead. He forced a weak smile at Matt making the blue-eyed boy's heart cringe. Suddenly, Tai was slammed hard into a large boulder by one of the digimon, hitting his head on the granite surface.

"Tai!!" That was all Matt could take.

There was no way he could get in to help Tai, but he had another idea. Slowly, lost in the confusion of the battle, he approached the leader of the Daromon from behind and tackled him to the ground. 

"Argh!" he called as Matt flung him down.

They fought back and forth for a few seconds, but Matt had the advantage of surprise and soon won, pinning the leader.

"Tell them to stop!" Matt commanded him.

The creature didn't move.

"Tell them or so help me god I'll kill you right now!" he would not have hesitated to carry out his threat, but then the captured digimon spoke up.

"Retreat!" he ordered.

The other Daromon looked at each other questioningly, but did as they were told.

"Now let me go!" the leader yelled at Matt.

Matt did so and the pack of digimon retreated into the woods. He knew they wouldn't come back for a while and when they did, he and Tai would be long gone.

'Tai!' Matt called to his friend. He raced over to the prone form. 

"Tai?" Matt asked cautiously as he approached.

No answer.

Fear gripped Matt as he kneeled down and gently turned Tai over. Matt gasped as he surveyed Tai's wounds. 'No…' he thought.

"No, don't do this to me Tai!" Matt practically yelled at the boy. "You've got to be okay…you've got to be…"

Matt placed two fingers to Tai's neck, feeling for a pulse…what he felt could barely be classified as one, it was almost too weak to be detected and was getting fainter by the second.

Matt began to sob almost hysterically. 

"No! You cannot do this! Who's gonna take care of Kari if your not around!…" Matt fought to calm his voice. "…Don't leave all of us alone…" Matt clenched his eyes closed and turned his head down towards the ground in despair.

"…Matt…I-I'm okay…don't….cry, man…"

Matt's head shot up and he saw Tai, eyes barely open and smiling weakly.

"Tai! God, I thought you were gone…" Matt said, relieved.

"Naw, never…" Tai winced and sucked in a sharp gasp of air. "M, Matt if…I don't…"

"No, Tai. Don't even say it. I won't let you talk like that…you'll be okay…" Matt said determinably.

"Please…Matt, j-just listen." Tai pleaded. "Please…please take ca-re of Kari for me…I, I don't…want her to…be alone…" Tai's voice began to fade and his eyes started to close. "We both hate…to be…alone…"

Matt felt the tears beginning to fill his eyes.

"I promise Tai, but you'll make it…I won't let you die…"

Tai smiled one last time.

"Thanks…Matt…"

Then his eyes closed completely and Matt frantically searched for his pulse. Still there…barely.

"I won't let you be alone Tai…I promise you that too." With that, Matt picked the smaller boy up in his arms and began walking down the path in the direction that he knew the others to be in as the rain poured down around him.

~~~~~~~End Flashback~~~~~~~~

"I'm sorry Matt." Tai mumbled in his sleep.

Matt's heart clenched at the words.

"You've got nothing to be sorry for Tai." Matt told him softly even though he knew that he would get no response.

Tai was looking worse and worse. His wounds just wouldn't stop bleeding and he was shivering uncontrollably in Matt's arms. The rain was still coming down hard and the sky seemed to only be getting darker.

'I'll get you help Tai…just hang on a little longer.' He silently pleaded.

Tai began coughing very violently. Alarmed, Matt quickly set him down, allowing his head to rest on a soft patch of the rain-soaked earth.

"Shhh…It's okay Tai." Matt tried to soothe him. "Just calm down. You'll be okay. I won't let anything happen to you, you're safe…"

Tai's coughing soon subsided and Matt breathed a sigh of relief. Then he glanced down at his shirt. His shoulder had tiny patched of blood on it.

Matt knew he hadn't been hurt, sure he had a few scrapes and some bruises, but they wouldn't account for that blood. Matt gasped as a though occurred to him. 'Oh, no…'

The only conclusion he could come to was that if it wasn't his blood it had to be someone else's…it had to be Tai's.

Tai had been bleeding badly so pretty much Matt's entire midsection and chest was covered with his blood, but none had reached his shoulder. That had, however been where Tai's head was facing when he'd started to cough.

Quickly, Matt turned Tai's head to face him.

"Dammed…"

Matt had been right. Blood was apparent at the corners of Taichi's mouth. 

"No…Tai." Matt broke down over Tai's still body, grasping his hand tightly as if that alone could make him wake up and this would all be forgotten. "Why…? Why did you have to try and save me? You were already weak, you knew you couldn't win, so why?" he demanded of his friend.

Tai didn't answer. Matt hadn't expected him to, but for some reason the lack of that answer made Matt cry all the harder. 

"…M-a…Th…" Tai spoke wearily.

Matt slowly looked up at Taichi and his eyes met with those of the smaller boy. 

'Those eyes…' Matt thought. Tai's eyes, which had at one time been a dark chocolate brown color, were now turning to an extremely deep black. As if all the life in them was draining out. 

Matt swallowed the lump in his throat. He knew he had to try and remain calm for Tai's sake. If he started panicking now, it would all be over. 

"How do you feel?" Matt asked, trying to keep his voice steady and calm but failing miserably. He raised his hand and gently wiped the blood away from Tai's lips. 

"O-okay." Tai responded weakly. "Just…a little sore…that's all. I'll be alright."

Tai shifted gingerly, trying to relieve some of the pain that was circulating through his body.

"Uh!" Tai cried out as a sudden burst of intense pain wracked his body. He quickly turned on his side and clutched his stomach, curling at the waist.

"Tai!" Matt reached out to Tai and pulled the smaller boy into his arms. This action only made Tai scream louder. 

Matt had one arm wrapped around Tai's back, holding him up and supporting his head. The other was resting on Tai's sweat and rain drenched face. 

"M-att…it-it hurts…so much…" Tai ground out as he writhed in Matt's arms while total, complete agony consumed him.

Matt thought he would cry at the words. He was still trying to stay calm. 'I can break down when he's safe.' Matt kept telling himself. 'But not now.'

"I know Tai…I know it hurts…" Matt said soothingly, softly rocking Tai back and forth. "But you've got to work through it…please just try and stay with me a little longer. Just hold on a little longer…please Tai…"

A few moments later Tai's cries stopped, but he still shook violently, lying in his best friend's arms and gasping for air. He was tired and even with his eyes closed it seemed as though the world was spinning. He cracked open his eyelids just enough so he could see Matt's face, looking down at him with worry and fear. No, not fear. Terror. Pure terror.

"I…d-don't think I can…Matt."

Tai was right. Matt was terrified. He was terrified that he was watching one of the only people in his life that truly mattered to him die. The terror that was plastered on Matt's face turned to something even beyond that, a look of such fear and anguish that could not even be described with words as he listened to Tai's response.

"No, Tai." He told him forcefully, just short of screaming. "No. I won't let you give up on me. I won't!"

Matt's very soul felt like it would shatter into a thousand tiny shards at any moment. 

"It's my fault…god. Tai I'm sorry…I'm so sorry…"

Tai's eyes opened a bit more in surprise. He thought this was his fault?

"No, Matt…It's not your fault…please…don't b-blame yourself…"

"It was Tai!" Matt insisted. "It was all my fault._ I_ decided to leave the digimon behind, _I_ thought we should explore another way, _I_ dragged you with me, and_ I_ almost got you killed! It was my fault Tai!" he started speaking more softly now, almost whispering. "It was my fault…"

"No." Tai's voice was surprisingly strong at that moment. It only lasted for a second, but the impact of it got Matt's attention. "_We_ decided to leave the digimon with the others so they could protect Kari and TK. I _volunteered_ to go with you and explore the other path, and it was my choice to take on those horror movie rejects." Tai stopped for a minute as an extremely violent coughing fit jolted his body, but as soon as it subsided he continued, softer, more strained this time. "You didn't do…anything…Matt…please, please stop blaming yourself. I can't take it…"

"Tai…" Matt couldn't believe it. 

"It wasn't…your fault…" Tai suddenly felt extremely weak and dizzy. The world seemed to spin around him. Tai felt like he was losing control of himself. He couldn't keep his eyes open and he couldn't seem to keep his head up.

"Tai!" Matt began to panic as Taichi's eyes rolled into the back of his head and closed. His head fell back almost lifelessly and Matt tried desperately to snap the boy out of his trance. "Don't do this to me Tai, not now…Tai! Tai wake up! Please…Tai…TAI!"

To be continued…

Cruel? Yes, I am. I always try to end at cliffhangers, which was hard in this story since it was originally just one big one-parter. Please R+R if you want more, if you have suggestions, or you just feel like reviewing something. Please, no flames. 


	2. Default Chapter Title

Okay, this is the second part. I am going to try and make it Taito, but it was already written beforehand so it will be limited Taito. Subtlety is the keyword in this fic. When it gets to the parts that I'm just now writing, like in part 5 or 6, then there will be so much Taito it'll make your head spin! That's the problem with previously written fics. (sighs) this one is basically where the coming situations and memories can get a jumping off point. The next one will be better, promise. Till then though, this'll have to do.

Disclaimer: Nope, nobody from Toei or Fox has called yet telling me that I am now the proud owner of Digimon…..I hate you people….
    
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Tragedy: Part 2

Tai was barely aware of someone calling his name, though he didn't know who it could be. Then he was suddenly jolted out of his stupor as he realized that he was in the dark and alone. 'Alone…' Tai thought. 

"I-I'm alone…No…No!" Tai cried out loud. I don't want to be alone! Please someone help me! Please. Don't leave me alone! Matt! Matt, where are you?! Please, Matt I need you! Please…" Tai began to sob. "Matt…help me…"

Tai sank deeper into the darkness, almost losing himself to it before he heard a voice calling out his name. 

"Calm down Tai…it's okay, you're not alone…I won't ever let you be alone…"

Tai slowly opened his eyes and looked up at Matt. He had his eyes closed as tears dripped down his face, but he was still whispering soft words of comfort to his fallen companion. 

Tai tried to talk, to tell Matt that he was okay but couldn't seem to find his voice. He looked so beautiful; but then again Tai had thought that about the blonde for years. Tai tried again to speak and a soft squeak was able to escape his aching throat. 

Matt opened his eyes at the small sound and was delighted to find Tai awake…just barely, but he was awake. 

Before Matt could speak, Tai found his voice and beat him to it.

"Th-thank…you…for staying…Matt…"

Matt smiled a little.

"I'll never let you be alone Tai. I promise you."

"Thanks…Matt…" Tai could barely speak. His world was darkening again as his body teemed with pain. 

"I won't let you die Taichi. I won't."

"I know…I know…you'll try…" Tai couldn't keep his eyes open any longer and slowly allowed them to rest. "Just…don't leave…Yamato…"

Matt stiffened. 'Yamato. He's never called me by my full name before.' Matt allowed a small smile to graze his lips. 'I like it.' But just as suddenly as it came, the smile vanished. Tai always called all the kids by their nicknames, but Matt realized that Tai _had_ used his full name before…It was a painful memory…

Tai lost consciousness once again and sent Matt into another worried frenzy.

'Still breathing but not for long.' He noted.

'What am I going to do?' Matt thought. 'God, you had to get yourself hurt _now_ Taichi? I…I was just trying to get up the courage to tell you…'

Suddenly, something burst through the trees.

"Matt! Tai!"

Matt's thoughts were broken with the calls. It was Sora and Joe. They were riding on Birdramon and Ikkakumon. Agumon and Gabumon were with them too.

The two humans and the digimon rushed over to where Matt was still kneeling over Tai. 

"Matt!" Sora's expression turned from one of elation to one of horror, as did the others. 

"What happened to him, Matt?" Joe asked as he quickly kneeled down opposite Matt and gently extricated Tai from the death grip Matt had on him.

"We…we were attacked." Matt looked down as he felt fresh tears forming in his eyes. He wouldn't let them see him cry. He didn't mind showing his weaknesses to Tai, but not to them. Not right now. "He saved me…"

"Tai!" Agumon rushed up to his partner, as Joe looked him over. The little lizard's face was painted with sorrow and dread…he'd never seen Tai look so weak and helpless before.

"He'll be okay Matt. Tai's a fighter." Gabumon tried to comfort his partner and laid a gentle paw on his shoulder.

Matt gave Gabumon a small smile of gratitude and Sora simply looked on at Joe and Tai in wide-eyed terror. She'd known Tai since she was a baby. This just couldn't happen…

Joe looked up at the group. Sad at first, but then a determined gleam entered his eyes. 

"We have to get him back to camp fast. I can't help him out here."

"How bad is it Joe?" Sora asked tentatively, not sure if she wanted to know the answer. Just looking at Tai she could tell he wasn't doing well.

Joe was silent for a moment. Debating whether he should tell them or not, but finally he spoke.

"He's lost a lot of blood. There's tons of deep gashes all over his body and I think his left arm is fractured." He sighed and continued. "I'm pretty sure he has at least a couple of concussions and there's a good chance he has some back injuries, but I don't want to take the risk of turning him over to look. He's got who knows how many broken ribs and he's probably got some internal injuries as well…"

The small group in front of Joe only stared in shock at the list of injuries that Joe had just rambled off. 

Matt took a shuddering breath in and stood up, turning to Gabumon.

"Digivolve into Garurumon." He commanded the digimon.

"Why, Matt?"

"Because, Tai needs to be moved as little as possible on the way back and you can run the smoothest." He explained. 

"Good idea Matt." Joe said.

Gabumon nodded and digivolved.

"Gabumon digivolve to…Garurumon!"

Slowly, Matt and Joe picked Tai up and carried him to Garurumon. 

After affirming that Tai was secure, Joe climbed back onto Ikkakumon. Sora and Agumon reluctantly left Tai to Matt and Garurumon and got back onto Birdramon. Matt stayed on Garurumon with Tai to make sure he didn't get jolted around too much on the way back.

Matt looked down at Tai. He again cradled the boy into his arms. Tai looked incredibly weak…more like fragile. Matt was almost afraid to touch him for fear he might break. As the group began to leave, Matt pleaded with Garurumon.

"Please try and be as gentle as you can Garurumon…" Matt begged the wolf-like creature. "I…I don't want him to hurt anymore…"

Garurumon cast a sad and sympathetic look over his shoulder at Matt and nodded. He understood.

As they began to move out Matt looked down at Tai. Determined not to take his eyes off of him for a second, but that determination didn't last very long as Matt's eyes were drawn down just to the side of Taichi.

Matt could feel every part of his body cringe at the sight. 

'Aw, god.'

Garurumon's fur was already stained deep red in Taichi's blood…

"Yamato…"

Matt heard a still unconscious Tai softly call his name. His _full _name.

To be continued…

Not really a cliffhanger. I tried though. Please R+R people. I promise that none of these parts will take more than a week to post until I get to part 5 because those are the parts that I have to write totally fresh, but those are also the parts that will have the major doses of Taito. ^_^ I'll post the next part to this in no more than five days, probably less, it all depends on how many reviews I get.


	3. Default Chapter Title

Here it is. Slight Taito again. I know I said this would be up in like five days, but then I realized that the last part (and this part) are kinda short comparatively and I decided to post these two at about the same time. Anyway, please R+R. I'm going to think you don't want me to continue this if you don't review.

Disclaimer: Nope, don't own 'em, never will either.

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Tragedy: Part 3

Some time later Matt and the others finally arrived at camp. It was inside of a rather large cave so they could get out of the rain, which was still coming down in relentless cascades.

The humans dismounted and the digimon de-digivolved back into rookie form. 

"I'll carry Tai." Joe said to Matt. 

"I got him." Matt said almost gruffly. The tone in his voice was a mix of sorrow and guilt with something that almost sounded to Joe like jealousy, but he dismissed it. 

Not wanting to upset Matt, Joe backed off. 

Matt hooked one arm around Tai's back and another under his knees and began to carry him as he had done before. 

They hadn't even walked ten feet into the cave before the others spotted them.

Kari and TK were the first to approach. They had both been anxiously awaiting their brother's return. Unfortunately, Matt was leading the pack with a battered and bloody Tai cradled in his arms.

Kari gasped as the others came up beside them.

"What happened?!!" she practically screamed. 

Matt couldn't speak. He gave her an apologetic look and walked past the distraught girl to set Taichi down on the ground. Everyone else stood looking at Joe and Sora, waiting for some kind of an explanation.

Joe, however, followed Matt and set to work trying to help Taichi as best as he could. This left Sora trying to explain something that she knew only fragments of. 

"Sora, w-what happened t-to Tai?" Kari choked out.

Sora looked at the girl. She was only eight years old. She shouldn't have to go through this. Sora kneeled next to Kari and rested her hand on her shoulder. She spoke softly and tenderly, but loud enough so that Izzy, Mimi, TK, and the digimon could hear her too.

"He was hurt Kari." She started. "Some digimon attacked them and Tai was hurt when they tried to fight."

Kari looked a bit puzzled. 

"B-but if T-Tai was…was hurt that bad then why is Matt okay?" 

It was a question asked out of innocence, but it was also a question that caused pain. Sora glanced up and noticed Matt, who was still within earshot, visibly shudder at her words. 

Sora thought carefully about her response and then decided to tell Kari the truth. There was no use in hiding it from her. She took a deep breath to continue but before she could someone else spoke up.

"He did it for me…"

Everyone turned to look at Matt. He was standing next to Tai. His fists clenched and his head pointed downward, trying to hide tears.

"They were attacking me. I-I couldn't defend myself…there were too many of them. Tai…he-he saw that I was in trouble and he protected me. He took a-all of the attacks…h-he…I…I'd be dead now if he hadn't. I just know it." Matt's voice was broken by sobs. "I-I did this to him…it was my fault…I'm so sorry Kari…"

Everyone stood there, sympathy in their eyes as they waited for a verdict to be passed by the bearer of Light.

Slowly, after seeming to wait an eternity, she began to approach Matt. He didn't move. Matt promised himself that he would take anything she threw at him. All those words of hatred that he expected to spew forth from her mouth, all the tears…he wouldn't even care if she hit him. Hell, he wouldn't care if she killed him at this point, he deserved it and he half expected her to, but to his surprise she did none of those things. 

Matt looked on in awe as Kari ran and threw her arms around his legs, crying into his stomach. 

"I-It wasn't your f-fault Matt. I know it." She told him. "I don't know what happened out there, but I do know that Tai considers you a friend ('more than a friend' she thought) and he is a very good judge of character."

Matt kneeled down and embraced Kari. The two of them crying together.

"Thank you Kari." Matt whispered to her.

"I just…I know you would never hurt Tai, Matt. You two have been through too much together. Here and in the real world."

Matt half-smiled, half-winced as memories came flooding back to him.

"Matt." Joe called, snapping him out of his trance. "I need help with Tai."

Matt nodded and immediately left to help.

Joe kind of took charge after that. He was fueled by the need to help his friend and he knew what had to be done for him so he set the others to work too.

Matt helped him hold Tai up when he needed to wrap bandages around him or when he needed to inspect his wounds. 

Sora kept busy by constantly replacing the cool cloth on Tai's forehead, a vicious fever had already sprung up and it wasn't doing much to help the ailing boy's condition. 

Mimi was sent to retrieve all the blankets she could find. Although they had dried Tai off as much as they could without injuring him further, his body was still unbearably cold. 

Gabumon, who was watching over both Matt and Tai, thought that it was strange. Here was Sora working to keep Tai cooled down and opposite her was Mimi who was trying to warm him up. 

Agumon sat by Gabumon, as out of the way as he dared. He and Gabumon were still looking after TK and Kari just as much as they were their own humans. The boys had told them to protect their younger siblings and since both were kind of out of it at the moment, they still carried on that responsibility.

Izzy didn't know what to do so he did the only thing that came to his mind; he worked on his computer. He thought that maybe he could find something that would help Tai on a medical website or something.

TK and Kari were not allowed to help. It wasn't like the others didn't trust them, they just didn't want them to see more then they had to so they were sent a few meters away from the commotion to play with the remaining digimon, though they didn't feel much like playing. Neither did the digimon.

It went on like that for a good two hours. 

As Matt helped Joe hold Tai, he happened to glance up at Gabumon and he immediately regretted it. Gabumon's fur still had a stain of red on it. Matt had thought that it would've disappeared when he de-digivolved, but it was still there, haunting him like a ghost. 

Before another thought could cross Matt's mind, he felt Tai begin shaking in his arms. Not like he had been before, but much more violent. 

'Oh no…not now…' Matt knew what was happening to him.

He glanced down. Tai was jolting back and forth uncontrollably as a seizure tore through his body.

Joe realized what was going on too.

"Hold his head still Matt!" Joe yelled, panic gripping him. "Mimi, Izzy, Sora, get over here now!"

The others came at his frenzied call each gasping as they saw what had him so upset.

"Hold his arms and legs!" Joe commanded.

They all complied as the digimon and TK did their best to hold a frantic Kari back.

Matt wrapped his arms around Tai as tight as he could. Tears leaked from his eyes for about the hundredth time that day. He thought he had cried more today that he had in his whole life. He closed his eyelids and just kept whispering into Tai's ear as he had done before in the real world. 

"Just be okay Tai…you're not alone. Just be okay…"

To be continued…

Did you like it? The next part will consist mostly of a flashback to Matt and Tai's childhood. It should prove to be quite interesting. I can't wait to see where this goes! Even I don't know yet. The next one will more than make up for the shortness of these two chapters. I thought about splitting it, but I figured that I might get too many death threats. Please R+R if you want more. ^_^


	4. Default Chapter Title

Okay, this has a bit more Taito in it. This is also the last part that was written previously. From here on out I will have to write the chapters from scratch and that will take a LOT longer than just revising them, so bear with me. This is mostly a flashback (a very long flashback). I hope you enjoy it. ^_^ Please R+R

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Tragedy: Part 4

~~~~~Flashback 2 years ago in the real world~~~~~

Beep….beep….beep….beep…

The heart monitor was now a familiar sound to Yamato Ishida as he sat in an extremely uncomfortable hospital chair. When this had all started over a year ago he had gauged time by the continuous steady beeps. Once a second. Just like clockwork. There was no time device in the small white room that he so often found himself in so that was the only way he was able to determine how long he'd been there.

Now, though he wasn't ever sure of what time it was. The beeps had been slowing recently.

Once a second.

One every two seconds.

Four seconds.

Five seconds…

It kept getting slower and slower. 

Even at the tender age of 9 he knew that it wasn't a good sign.

Matt sighed, got up from his chair, and approached his friend's bed. 

Lying under white covers was a boy that was even smaller than Matt. The young child had tubes, wires, and needles all over him.

Matt cringed. He knew that Tai absolutely HATED needles. 

Most of the tubes went into the brown-eyed boy's arms and wrists as they were attached to those accursed needles, but one went into his nose. Matt hated the sight of that but it was better than what had been. Only yesterday there had been another larger tube inserted into Tai's throat, but since then he had gotten well enough so that he could breathe on his own.

Suddenly Tai started to whimper in his sleep, moving about feebly. 

Matt grasped his hand tightly in an attempt to soothe him. He'd been through this long enough to know that Taichi was having another nightmare. He'd been having them for the past year.

'No wonder.' Matt thought. 'With everything they've put him through.'

"Tai. Wake up." He called out to the brown-haired boy who now had tears running down his cheeks. 'Dammit Tai, you've got to calm down…please…'

The last time he had done this, Tai had been thrashing around so much that he had pulled almost all of the IV's out of his arms and detached the heart monitor wires from his chest. In the tender condition he was in, it had almost been too much for him.

"H-Help me….somebody….mom….Kari….Matt…" Tai cried in his sleep as he trembled under the nightmare's terrifying hold. "Yamato…help me…"

Matt stiffened at the name. 

Matt had never liked his full name much so he had convinced Tai to make a promise to him when they were very young. Tai wouldn't ever call Matt by his full name unless he really needed help. He was always very good about sticking to that promise. For him to use that name he either had to be extremely scared or in a tremendous amount of pain. Matt thought it was both…

"Shhh…" he soothed. "I'm here Tai. Don't worry I won't leave." Matt kept talking to Tai with words of comfort. Gradually, he stopped crying and no longer looked as though he were in pain.

Matt breathed a sigh of relief and kneeled down on his friend's right side. He wasn't going to just go back and sit across the room again after that.

Matt knew what Tai's nightmares were about. After one episode about a month ago he had told him. 

Tai had said that one night about two weeks after he had come home from his first long hospital stay he had woken up in the middle of the night and couldn't breathe. No one was around at the time. Sure, they were all just out in the living room, but he wasn't strong enough to sit up let alone walk out there and get them and there was no way he could command enough air to call for them. So he had done the only thing he was capable of, he had laid there gasping for each breath. 

He felt helpless and alone, like no one cared enough to help him. He laid on his back, looking into the darkness and silently crying, which used up even more of his air, weakening him further.

He was alone.

What seemed like hours later, his sister came in to check on him. Being only 5 at the time she had panicked and ran immediately to get her parents.

They had gotten Tai to the hospital in time, but that experience had resulted in yet another two-week long hospital stay and ever after Tai had never been able to handle being by himself. That was why someone had been with him at all times through this ordeal.

Around the clock one of them would stay. Either Kari, Sora, Matt, or his parents were always beside him. In fact, his family and Sora had been with him for almost two days straight now. When Matt had arrived he had said that he would stay with Tai while the others went home to get at least a few hours sleep. 

The Kamiya's had been reluctant to leave their little boy, but Sora had convinced them that Matt wouldn't let anything happen to Taichi and eventually they had left with the promise to return first thing in the morning.

Only a few hours had passed since then and Matt was still there with Tai. He hadn't woken up since he'd been there. Matt guessed he needed his sleep. Yesterday, the doctors had come in and run some particularly painful test on him and it had left Taichi totally exhausted.

Matt now hated those doctors for what they were doing to his best friend. One of the only people in the world that mattered to him. They had been running test after test on Tai for over a year now and they still didn't know what was wrong with him.

"Matt?"

Tai's eyes opened a little and tried to determine if the blurry, spiky headed figure in front of him was indeed Matt.

"Hey Tai." Matt said, trying to belay his saddened tone. 

"Hey." Tai responded.

"How do you feel?" Matt asked, trying to sound nonchalant.

"You know me, man. I'm fine."

'But that's the problem.' Matt thought. 'I do know you and I know when you're lying…'

Tai started coughing and Matt handed him a glass of water. He wrapped one arm under Tai's back to hold him up and with the other he helped the seriously weakened boy to swallow.

Tai stopped coughing and Matt laid him back down on the bed, setting the glass on the bedside table.

"Thanks." Tai murmured. He sounded tired.

"No prob." Matt said, forcing a smile. "You know I'm always here for you Tai."

Then the door opened and a doctor stepped in.

"Taichi?"

Matt heard Tai curse under his breath. Matt did too. They both knew this guy. The only time he ever came in to check on Tai was when he wanted to run more tests and they were always the painful kind. 

Matt hated this man. All he saw Tai as was an experiment. An enigma that this physco wanted to solve. If Matt would've had his way the jerk never would have been allowed within a mile of Tai, but his parents had been deceived by the other physicians and they allowed him to test Tai. Matt hated the fact that the person who was supposed to be helping Taichi saw him as nothing more than a guinea pig.

"We need to run some more tests, Taichi."

Matt spoke through gritted teeth trying to keep the hatred out of his voice.

"You just ran a ton of tests on him. Why do you have to do more so soon? Can't you see he's still weak?" Matt just didn't understand. Was he trying to kill Tai? His pulse was already so slow…and his breathing seemed to worsen every second.

The doctor grinned smugly, almost evilly at Matt.

"It is necessary, but I really don't have to explain anything to you. I have his parents permission." He stated waving papers in his hand.

Those damned papers. 

Matt narrowed his eyes, but offered no further argument. He knew he couldn't win. If he tried to fight he would lose and wouldn't be allowed to visit Tai anymore. He didn't think he could handle not being able to come see Tai.

Matt sighed and turned back around to face Taichi, turning his back on the doctor who was swiftly moving over to get Tai ready to move.

Matt looked guiltily up at Tai. He felt like he had failed him, but when he glanced up he could read the words that his friend wanted to say, but was either too weak or afraid to. 'Thank you.'

The doctor began to detach monitors and machines from Tai and then quickly reattached smaller more portable versions. Matt had a bad feeling about this. He noticed the panic beginning to creep into Taichi and quickly moved to take his hand. 

Tai looked up at him. The terror in his eyes was almost too much for Matt to bear.

"Don't worry Tai." He whispered to the boy. "It'll be over soon. You can't give up now, don't let these jerks win."

"I know Yamato."

Matt shivered. That name again.

"I'm just scared."

"Listen Tai. I'll be right here when you get out okay? I'll stay as close as I can."

Tai nodded. He refused to cry.

Without a word the doctor began pushing Tai out of the room. Matt followed behind as far as he could and was then locked out of the room they had just taken Taichi in.

Matt stood looking at the closed door for a while. Then a nurse saw him. She asked what he was doing and he told her that he promised to stay as close to his friend as he could.

The nurse smiled.

"Come with me." She said.

She led Yamato to a window. He looked in and saw Tai. He was lying on a metal operating table, even more wires and needles invading his small body. He was staring at the ceiling and his eyes were drooping.

Matt noticed the mask over Tai's face and figured that they were going to knock him out before they started whatever they were going to do.

'I have to let him know I'm here first.' Matt thought.

He banged on the window and screamed out Tai's name.

Sleepily, Tai looked over at him. 

'I'm here man.' He whispered.

Tai read his lips and smiled just as the drugs took effect.

Matt sighed as the nurse ushered him away from the window.

'I'm here Tai. Hang on.'

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The next time Matt had seen Tai after that, he was in a coma. As it turned out, the doctor that had taken Tai away had given him the wrong drugs in that procedure and had almost killed him. Of course he was fired and had his license revoked. Unfortunately, it didn't happen soon enough. Tai was unconscious for a month and suffered dozens of seizures during that time.

Once, Tai's heart stopped. Before anyone could argue, his parents, Kari, Sora, and Matt were all shoved out of the room. They sat there in the waiting room for hours after Tai was taken to surgery. There wasn't a face among them that wasn't tear-streaked.

Finally, the doctor came. He explained that they had been forced to do a thoracotomy. Mr. and Mrs. Kamiya began sobbing immediately while the three children around them stood, confused.

No one said anything else, but when they saw Tai, they understood. He had a huge bandage wrapped all the way around his chest. They had also inserted another one of those cursed tubes down his throat.

Matt couldn't believe they had done that to Tai. His best friend. They had actually cracked his chest open. The doctors insisted that it was only used as a last resort, but that really didn't help Taichi now, did it?

About six months before the entire digiworld thing, whatever had plagued Tai for so long had just seemed to disappear. 

After Tai was released from the hospital for the last time, Matt had just acted kinda nonchalant towards him. When Tai was sick, they had been absolute best friends, but after…it was just like Matt wanted to hurt him as much as possible…

'Why did I do that to you?' Matt asked himself as he sat by Tai's unnaturally still form. 'Why was I so cold to you when you needed me the most?'

Matt took Tai's limp hand in his. He had vowed not to leave his friend's side until he woke up.

'I know why. I was scared.' Matt gave Tai a sad smile. '_You_ scared me Taichi.'

Matt looked down at Tai and his smile vanished.

Joe had to take off his shirt in order to wrap his wounds. Now Matt could see the very vivid scar that Tai still had from that time that seemed so long ago. It ran all the way from the top of his ribcage to the bottom. There were tons of other scars from his many hospital visits, but you had to look hard to see them and Matt really didn't want to think about that right now. 

"I was so scared Tai." Matt told the wounded boy aloud. "I never told you, but…when I stayed with you all those times…I just…I started to like you more and more everyday…a lot more…"

Matt half-expected Taichi to say something, but when no sounds were uttered from his blue-tinged lips, he continued.

"When you were released from the hospital and they said you were okay…I don't know…I just kinda kept my distance. You still seemed so weak and fragile and…and I guess I was just afraid that if I told you…that if I tried to hold you…I would break you."

Tears were brimming Matt's eyes now as he spoke.

"I love you Taichi. I've loved you for a long time, but I was just so scared. I didn't want to hurt you and I thought that was what I would be doing if I told you."

Matt cried next to Tai for a while, letting his guilt and sorrow overwhelm him.

Eventually he regained his composure and tried to think of what he could do to help his beloved.

When they had finally gotten Tai's seizures under control, he had an unbelievably high fever. His shirt was completely soaked with deep red blood. His goggles were found to have a small hairline crack on the left lens, but Tai himself was in far worse shape than his clothes. 

Joe had told them of the final account of Tai's injuries. He had been right on most of his previous assumptions. Tai had lost around four pints of blood, he had two concussions, and his left arm was fractured. They had wrapped his arm as best they could; mainly they just kept Tai's black arm brace on it. Other than that, he didn't have any back injuries, save a few deep gashes, which was good. Unfortunately more of Joe's predictions had come true. Every time Tai coughed, he coughed up blood. He definitely had some internal injuries. It wasn't very much. Joe said if they were lucky, it would only turn out to be a small tear and would heal on it's own. Everyone hoped that was the case, for if it was a large internal wound, they wouldn't be able to do anything for him. All of his ribs had been totally shattered. His breaths now came in sharp, shuddering intervals.

At first, everyone had stayed right by his side not wanting to leave for fear something would happen. Gradually though, they started to tire. When TK and Mimi both fell over, sleeping, Joe and Sora carried them back to the fire. Noticing that Izzy and Kari were in about the same condition, Matt suggested that they go try and get some sleep with the others. Reluctantly, Izzy did so. Kari had flat out refused. About three hours later she had laid down and also dozed off. Matt carried her over to the others, who were all asleep along with the digimon, and placed her in-between Gatomon and Agumon. Then he returned to Taichi's side.

Joe had told him and the others that if Tai woke up he had to be kept as still as possible. His ribs were broken so badly that if he moved even a millimeter he could puncture a lung…It could kill him.

Matt sat there like that for hours. His hand never left Tai's as he tried to provide the unconscious boy with some degree of comfort.

Matt wished with all his heart that Tai would wake up. If only for an instant. Then at least he could tell him how he felt. Maybe…just maybe it would help.

Matt knew that life wasn't a fairy tale, but right then he would've slayed any dragon, climbed any mountain to have Tai look at him with his chocolate-brown eyes again. 

Matt sobbed quietly to himself as he thought of all the times he had pushed Tai away from him when all he really wanted to do was run to him and hold the younger boy tightly in his arms and tell him it was alright. But now he didn't know if he would ever be able to do that even if he had the courage to. And that uncertainty was what was slowly eating away at his soul as he watched his love's breaths come slower and slower…

To be continued…

Alright, that's gonna be it for a while. I have A LOT to do. Truthfully, if you guys want any more chapters in this fanfic, then please start e-mailing me with ideas. I don't think I can do the rest of this on my own, so if you'd like to help then by all means, HELP!!! I know this part wasn't too good. It's because I didn't put very much dialogue in it, but I just couldn't make it any longer. If you guys give me suggestions so I can continue this series, I promise the next one will be better. As always, please R+R. I hope you enjoyed it! ^_^ 


	5. Default Chapter Title

Here's another part of Tragedy. It's not the last part, but I'm really trying to finish this. I want to thank everyone who sent in suggestions and comments. *bows* You people are wonderful. This is short, but like I said I really AM trying to finish this. Well, please enjoy. R+R?

Disclaimer: *sigh* I don't own Matt, Taichi, or anything else. I wish I owned Tai though. He's sooo cute!!!…I'm so sorry.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tragedy

"Matt…Matt? Matt."

Matt let out a small moan as he peeled his eyes open. He looked around and realized that he must've fallen asleep next to Tai. 

Matt sat up quickly. 

'I can't believe I fell asleep!' he scolded himself.

From his position in the cave, he could tell that it was still dark out. He was glad he wasn't out for too long at least.

"Matt?"

He turned to see his little brother standing over him.

"What are you doing up, TK?" he asked the 8-year-old calmly as he turned to check on Taichi.

"I couldn't sleep." Came TK's innocent reply. "Is Tai alright?"

A few moments of silence were passed as Matt mulled over the question. 

Tai wasn't doing well at all. It was a harsh fact of reality that killed Matt a little more every time he thought of it. Still…

"He's fine TK." Matt said as he turned to his brother and forced a smile to appear on his face. 

TK knew Matt was lying, but he decided not to say anything. He thought Matt needed to believe that Tai really would be okay more than anyone.

"Yeah….he's just fine TK…."

Matt's eyes were still fixed on Taichi's still body. 'Taichi….please, please come back to me…'

Matt didn't know how much more he could take. The love of his life was dying right in front of his eyes and he was powerless to stop it. Suddenly he felt two small arms around him. At the contact, Matt turned and saw his little brother smiling up at him reassuringly. 

"Taichi'll be okay Matt. I know he will be. He wouldn't leave you. He loves you too."

Matt broke into tears and clutched the small child to him as though he were a lifeline. 

"H-How did you know TK?"

"I could just see it. I think everyone could too. At first it was only me and Kari that knew, but I'm sure the others have caught on by now."

Matt gave a soft chuckle that came out as more of a sob.

"I was the only idiot who didn't know."

TK looked at his brother, sympathy shining in his sky blue eyes.

"It wasn't your fault Matt…"

"Yes it was TK! I hid my feelings so well that I drove Taichi away when I wanted him closer. I said such awful things to him…"

"Tai hid his feelings too Matt. Not as much as you, but he did. And whatever you said to him….I'm sure Taichi knows that you didn't mean it."

Matt opened his mouth to argue, but then heard a slight whimper.

He looked over to Taichi and saw his head turn to the side suddenly. Matt turned to the brunette quickly. 

"Tai? Can you hear me?"

Matt cautiously reached out to Tai. 

As soon as Matt's fingers brushed lightly against the boy's arm, he screamed.

Matt pulled away suddenly as Taichi continued to scream and thrash. Immediately, Matt tried to restrain him. 

"TK, go get the others NOW!!"

TK nodded and took off.

"Taichi!?"

The smaller boy's eyes were closed tightly as though he were trying to block out the reality around him. His fists were clenched tightly in pain. Be it physical or emotional, Matt wasn't sure.

"Come back!"

Tai's voice forced realization into Matt.

"Shit."

The nightmares were back. And in this condition they could kill him.

Making sure Tai could hear him, Matt yelled to the struggling child.

"I'm here Taichi! You're not alone! I won't let you be, I swear it!"

Tai's thrashing became less violent.

"Taichi! I'm here. I'm not gonna leave you…Nothing could ever make me…"

A few seconds later, Tai was only shivering.

Matt picked him up and held him in his arms, being careful not to make his injuries worse. He held Taichi to him and laid his forehead down onto Tai's. He was still burning with fever.

Matt began rocking back and forth with Taichi still cradled protectively into his arms.

The others arrived. When they saw Matt with Tai, they got nervous.

"Matt?!"

Matt looked up.

"He's alright…It's over…"

A collective sigh of pure relief was heard all around.

"…Matt…?"

The blonde's eyes widened and he quickly turned his attention to the smaller boy that was held against him.

"Tai!?"

His eyes were opened and darting around the room. He was confused. Under the circumstances, he was allowed to be. 

"Tai. Can you understand me? Do you know where you are? How do you feel?" Matt was elated and panicked all at the same time.

Tai gave him a small, weak, smile.

"Yes. No. Fine." Tai began coughing.

As the others raced over and Tai lowered his hand from his mouth, Matt saw more blood flecks on his palm causing him to cringe.

'Yeah…I'm sure you feel just fine…'

Joe kneeled beside the two boys and began checking over Taichi. 

"Tai! You're okay! You're really okay!" Kari was overjoyed.

"Sure…I am…" Tai tried to sound indignant. "You…think I could be taken out so easily?"

He could barely talk and his chest hurt so much. He was trying hard not to cough or shudder or do anything to alarm anyone, but it was so hard and he was so tired…

Other comments and questions were thrown at him. Tai tried to answer them as best he could, but soon even one word answers were becoming hard to get out.

The commotion stopped as everyone noticed this. They backed off and watched as Joe looked him over.

"M-Matt…where….where are we…?"

Matt sniffed and held back tears of joy.

"In a cave with the others." Matt reassured him. "Safe."

Tai seemed to search Matt's eyes for a moment. Then he smiled tiredly and closed his eyes. He snuggled more into the blonde's chest and he was out.

"Matt?"

It was Joe. He was worried. So natural for him.

"It's okay. He's just sleeping." Matt smiled and pulled Tai closer to him. "He's gotta be tired…"

The others all exchanged knowing glances and smiled.

"How is he Joe?" Sora asked

The smile on Joe's face faded. He had to tell them the truth.

"Not too good. The injuries are still there and so is the fever." Joe looked at the ground dejectedly. "All we can do is wait and see how he holds up."

Joe looked over at Matt holding Taichi and smiled once again.

"But I think he's doing the best thing he can right now. He needs a lot of rest if he's going to recover."

Everyone nodded.

"He'll be okay." Matt ran his fingers through Tai's soft brown hair. "He'll fight."

Kari turned to TK.

'Finally.' She mouthed.

TK giggled and nodded.

To be continued….

A little less dramatic than my other ones, ne? Don't worry. Way more drama to come. Well, still I need ideas so please send them in. I really need help with this. I hope you liked it. Thank you again to everyone who's already sent in suggestions. Really wonderful ideas. I'm trying to think of how I could use them….


	6. Tragedy: part 6

"…Matt…

Kay, just forget about the last chapter that was posted. This is what happens after chapter 5. I only wrote this because it was haunting me not having it done. I don't like to have things unfinished. I know it's not a good ending, but it's the best I could do.

Reviews are still good, but no flamers. I have a large fire extinguisher, alright?

Disclaimer: I'm too lazy and too depressed to do long disclaimers (school starts in 3 days for me). Don't own digimon. Never have, never will.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tragedy

"…Matt….?"

Matt woke the next morning to his love's breathtaking hazel eyes.

"Matt?"

"Are you alright Taichi?"

"Yes."

The blue-eyed boy was a little worried.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm just…a little thirsty…" Tai said. "Could I have some water?"

Matt's eyes lit up. 

"Of course you can." 'If he's thirsty, he must be getting better!'

Matt gave Tai some water and he drank it all. It wasn't that much, but it was better than nothing.

"Do you feel good enough to stay awake for a while?" Matt asked. "I know the others will want to know you're awake, especially Kari. She's been worried sick."

Tai nodded.

"Sure. I don't like making Kari worry."

"Somebody say my name?" Kari asked tiredly, still half asleep as she walked in rubbing her eyes.

"Just me Kar."

Matt noticed that the speed at which Kari's head snapped up far exceeded human limitations

"Tai!?"

Tai smiled.

"Hey sis…"

"Tai!"

Kari ran over and dropped to her knees by her brother, opposite Yamato, and took his hand.

"A-Are you okay Onichan?" Kari asked a bit fearfully

Tai smiled.

"Yeah Imouto. I'm fine." Taichi looked up at Yamato. "I promise…"

Kari laughed softly.

"What's going on?"

Matt looked over at Joe and the others who were all gathered a few feet away from them.

"Tai!?"

"Funny, that's what Kari said too…" Tai tried to joke.

Joe ran over and Kari obediently moved out of his way as the rest of the group gathered around just close enough so that they weren't suffocating Tai and Matt.

The group chattered quietly amongst themselves as they all noticed that Tai looked a little better than he had last night.

Matt bent down to whisper in Tai's ear as Joe checked him over.

"Are you really alright Tai-chan?"

Tai looked into Matt's fear filled eyes and grinned.

"Yeah. I think so Yami."

Matt was about to say something else but was cut off.

"Matt?"

"Yeah Joe?" Matt asked, glancing up at the older boy.

"Can I talk to you?"

Matt felt his heartbeat pick up speed.

"Sure."

Even before he could ask, Kari was at his side.

"It's okay Matt. I got him."

"Thanks Kari."

Matt looked down at Tai.

"I'll be right back alright Tai?"

"Kay…"

Matt gently moved Taichi so that his head rested in his sister's lap.

Matt walked over to where Joe was.

"What is it Joe?" Matt asked worriedly, panic slowly edging into his voice.

"How long has he been awake?" Joe asked, not really looking at Matt or anything else inparticular.

"He woke up this morning not long before you guys walked in, but last night he stayed awake for about an hour."

Joe didn't say anything.

"He asked me for some water this morning and drank all of it." Matt said, trying to get a response from Joe.

None came. Joe just stood there in a very doctorly like way and rubbed his chin with his hand.

"Joe?" Matt was seriously considering strangling the boy at this point.

"Joe!"

"Huh? Oh, hi Matt."

"Hi!?" Matt practically screamed. He grabbed Joe's shoulders and shook him a bit. "What's wrong Joe?! What's going on? Is Taichi alright?"

Joe looked at Matt like it was the first time he'd ever seen him. Suddenly, registering the sheer panic in the blonde's eyes, he grinned and started to laugh.

Matt let go of him. 'He's lost it.' 

"Matt! Tai's gonna be fine!"

"What?"

Joe became serious, but still smiled broadly.

"He'll be alright. We're still going to have to work to keep his fever from spiking any higher for the next few days and it'll take his ribs and arm a while to mend…well, a long while…but he's going to be okay." Joe grabbed Matt's shoulders and looked him in the eyes. "Matt, he's going to make it."

It took only a minute for this fact to register in Matt's mind before…

"YES!!"

The rest of the group jumped ten feet in the air and Tai winced from the sudden movement.

"Sorry…" Kari apologized, looking sheepish.

"S'okay. I'm alright." Tai assured her.

They looked over to where Joe and Matt were standing, jumping up and down and hopping in circles, laughing.

"Matt! Joe! What's wrong with you!?" Sora yelled.

"Have you two lost your minds?!" Mimi screamed.

"He's gonna be alright!" Matt screamed. "Tai'll be okay!"

Everyone looked at each other, smiled, and began imitating Joe and Matt, jumping around the cave and yelling.

Matt dropped to his knees beside Tai.

"Tai, you'll be okay!"

Tai smiled and started laughing at Yamato's elated expression.

"I could have told you that Yami…"

Tears suddenly threatened to seep into Matt's eyes as it hit him.

'I could have lost him…I could have really lost him…'

"Matt? Are you okay?"

Matt saw the worried expression on Tai's face.

"I'm fine." Matt whispered "I guess I just realized…how important you are to me Tai…" Yamato placed his hand gently on Taichi's cheek. "I could have lost you…"

Tai placed his hand gently over Matt's and smiled lovingly, knowingly.

"You'll never lose me Yamato…no matter what, never…"

"Tai…"

"Awww…."

They both looked up to see Sora snap a hand over Mimi's mouth.

"Shhh! Shut up Mimi!"

Sora smiled at the couple.

"Don't mind us."

Matt looked back at Tai who smiled evilly, if somewhat weakly, at him.

"Okay." Matt shrugged and carefully gathered Tai into his arms, locking the boy in a passionate kiss.

Everyone's eyes widened and Kari and TK's mouths dropped open.

Mimi and Izzy noticed and both quickly snapped their hands over the smaller kid's eyes.

"Hey!"

"Come on, let's go." Mimi said "You can watch them make out when you're older."

Mimi and Izzy turned and led the kids away.

Sora and Joe continued to stare.

"Joe!"

"Sora!"

They both jumped and quickly turned to follow the other two.

Matt released Tai's lips and let the other boy settle back into his arms. 

"Wow." Was all Tai could say.

"Wow indeed." Matt agreed, gently brushing some hair out of Taichi's drooping eyes.

"Get some sleep, love. You still need it."

Tai smiled as his eyes began to close.

"I love you Yamato."

"I love you too Taichi."

The brunette was soon asleep.

Matt gently stroked the side of his face with his hand. Tai was still pale, but not nearly as bad as he had been.

"I love you with all my heart angel, and I'll always keep you safe."

The End

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Sucked huh?

I'm sorry. I just had to get it done though. Ignore that the last chapter 6 ever happened and I think this makes sense. Hope it wasn't too bad. If anyone would like to do a remake of it or just make something up in your head of what actually happened it's fine with me.

Bye everybody!

~Broken Angel


End file.
